Did Somebody Say Vampire?
by Rachel Ewok
Summary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everyone's favorite Beetle Juice have been sent to Italy for the same reasons: Extinguish the new vampires that will throw the world into chaos. Joined by Edward Scissorhands and a slew of others, what will happen to Twilight?
1. Chapter 1: Buffy

Author's Note:

Hello all! First off, I don't own any of Tim Burton's characters, Stephanie Meyer's, or any others that I decide to throw in here. It's just a fun fic that came to me one day…

Also while it says Twilight is in this fic, this is probably unlike any Twilight/ featuring Twilight fiction you've ever read. If you're expecting something like this:

_Bella: Oh Edward I love you and your incandescent skin._

_Edward: No Bella I love YOU more, you're just like my favorite pot, and I want to smoke you all up!_

_Bella: Oh EDWARD you're so romantic, I want to have your vampire children!_

_Edward: But I do not want to hurt you, Reneseme is enough for me._

_Bella: Well, about that Edward… Vampires really CAN'T have children, Renesme isn't your child; her father is Jacob Black. I figured I'd tell you that AFTER I was a vampire and I'm virtually indestructible!_

_Jacob: GROSS, I IMPRINTED on my DAUGHTER?_

_Edward: I'll kill you, but I'm too noble to destroy you in front of Bella._

_Jasper: I hate my life…. And I look constipated in the movie._

_Rosalie: I hate everyone._

_Alice: Who wants to guess what song is on my iPod Shuffle next?!.... I DO!_

_Emmett: Let's play baseball._

Then you would be wrong. This fic has nothing to do with Twilight, well I guess it has a _little_ to do with Twilight, but don't expect the Cullen's to appear any time soon. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Also, Twihards: take a _deep_ breath. This is a _joke_ seriously; this is what happens when I'm left alone too long with a blank Word document: my mind just throws up onto the page and BAM look what you've got. So before you post angry messages at me, I've read Twilight at least twice as well as the rest of the books and seen the movie so I'm not an ignorant "hater"

And, you can be sure that anything with Edward Scissorhands or Betelgeuse will be ok since I've seen each of those movies about 20 times a piece… Buffy not too sure about: this isn't about the show,,, just the movie which I've seen once… I just thought she'd be perfect for this "job"… Enjoy! =D

Love, R_E

Did Somebody Say Vampire?

Prologue

Vampires. Frightening creatures of the night, who suck the blood of their prey, leaving their corpses to die or turn into one of them. Bloodthirsty, horrendous creatures who… sparkle… in the…. sunlight?

Yes they sparkle in the sunlight, and not only do they sparkle in the sunlight but they're deathly beautiful, and smell great too! Once upon a time the vampires were divided; groups of vampires who did not drink human blood only that of animals. Then there were groups of vampires who didn't have a problem quenching their thirst with that of more human prey.

But years of mountain lions and deer gets old, and with the smell of delectable human treats all around slowly but surely every clan of "vegetarian" vampires succumbed to their thirst and began hunting human quarry.

Chapter 1

_Buffy_

Buffy Summers stretched herself out on her beach towel and yawned daintily. The sun was beginning to set and she looked out over the open ocean, and then rolled over to look at her boyfriend, Pike who was sitting underneath an umbrella with suntan lotion all over his face and sunglasses covering his eyes.

She stifled a giggle; Buffy got a kick out of Pike dressed up like that. "It's okay if you get a little tan you know," she said pushing her sunglasses down her nose and looking at him over the tops of the rims.

"Buffy, please. You know how I sunburn," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and pushed her sunglasses back on.

"It's cooler now Pike, the sun is setting… Let's go for a walk." She got up and leaned over him, giving him a light peck on his white covered nose. "Eeew." She giggled, wiping the suntan lotion off her lips.

"Fine. Fine." He gave her a goofy half smile and got up from his chair. He glanced around, "We do need to be getting back Buffy… I mean, the traffic might not all be that bad, but it'll still take at least an hour to get back to LA, and that's if I speed."

"Lighten up will 'ya?" Buffy grinned grabbing his hand and pulling him off down the beach.

They did look like quite the pair walking down the beach, Buffy in her bright green bikini and large Ray Ban sunglasses, Pike in an AC/DC t-shirt, blue Hawaiian printed swim trunks, dark sunglasses, and a baseball hat.

They found their way to a boardwalk and Pike stopped to purchase a corn dog before they proceeded down the brightly lit dock. They walked all the way to the end of the boardwalk; Buffy plopped down and dangled her feet over the edge. "Careful, don't lose your flip flops." Pike grinned and sat down next to her, taking another bite of his corn dog.

"Look! There's the first star." Buffy pointed and grinned giddily at the shining ball of light in the sky.

"Make a wish," Pike whispered in her ear. Buffy turned her neck to face him, their lips almost touching.

"I already have everything I need," she whispered. "The vampires are all dead… plus I have you." She smiled a half smile.

"That's what I wanted to hear." Pike grinned impishly and moved in to kiss her lips.

But just as his lips began to brush hers, they were interrupted by a very familiar sounding voice. "Buffy!" The pair whipped around looking to where the voice had come from, Buffy turned so fast that one of her flip flops fell off into the water. "Darn it!" she cursed looking down into the black water.

She stood up facing a man who had come and stopped in front of the two of them. "Okay mister, this had better be pretty freakin' important I just lost a flip flop for you-"

"Ah Buffy, I see you never change." The man stepped closer, at the sight of his face Buffy gasped and Pike dropped his corndog.

"Merrick?" Buffy whispered, "But you're…"

"Dead?" Merrick finished for her.

"But…" Buffy stepped closer and poked his shoulder, "you died… I saw… Now you're back… unless," her hand flew to her mouth.

"That's right Buffy, they're back."

"But Lothos…" Buffy murmured.

"Lothos is dead Buffy… But these are quite different vampires… I'm afraid we'll have to take much of your training back to square one."

Buffy stopped and raised an eyebrow, "You're kidding… Right?" She glanced at Pike, "Am I dreaming?"

Pike shook his head, "Not if I'm having the same dream as you."

"Right… Okay I want to wake up now." Buffy closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten and…

She shot up to a sitting position in her bed gasping slightly. She felt her face and blinked her eyes a few times, "It was a dream?" She fell back on to her pillows. "Thank god."

She lay in bed staring at the ceiling unable to fall back to sleep. She groaned and flipped her legs over the side of her bed. She padded over to her closet, stepping inside she reached up to the highest shelf. After feeling around with her fingers for a few minutes she found it.

Buffy walked with a small shoebox cradled in her arms and sat down at her vanity. She placed the box down, and carefully opened it, as if there was some sort of rabid squirrel inside.

Slowly Buffy reached down through the tissue paper and pulled out a wooden stake holding it up in the tips of her fingers. Gingerly she turned it over, she handled it with such care, as if she were afraid it would bite her.

"I don't need this ever again," she whispered. "The vampires are all gone. I killed Lothos…" She shuddered, that dream had shaken her up more than it should have. Glancing at the clock she realized it was six AM, there was no use in going back to sleep now. Not like she could have anyway, and maybe she was so worried because she needed to eat. Yeah, that's what it was: hunger, definitely not worry.

Buffy placed the stake back into the shoebox and ceremoniously placed it back on the top shelf of her closet.

She pulled on a pair of old sweatpants and a white tank top and pulled her short hair back into a small ponytail. Shrugging at herself in the mirror she stomped down the stairs making as much noise as she could, her parents weren't there; they were in France for the week.

Buffy stepped into the kitchen and proceeded to fry up some eggs for herself. She flipped them around in the pan and added some pepper, once they were done she shoved them on to a plate and slowly picked at them while leafing through a month old Cosmo that was sitting there on the table.

After finishing half the plate she got up and dumped the leftovers into the garbage, looking at the clock on the wall she realized she had only killed about forty-five minutes. Groaning, Buffy stomped up the steps again and took a shower.

She washed her hair about five times and conditioned it and when her fingers began to get pruny she stepped out wrapped a towel around herself and changed into a pair of cutoffs, kept her white tank top, but threw on a red and white checkered shirt with the long sleeves rolled up.

For the third time that morning Buffy again looked at the clock: it was now eight. She smiled at the time she had managed to lose and fell on to her bed. After ten long minutes the doorbell rang, it startled Buffy and she quickly sat up and ran down the stairs, she threw open the door hugged Pike who was standing there smiling, then she put her hand to her head and winced from a head rush she had given herself from getting up too quickly.

"You okay?" Pike asked, concerned.

"Yeah, just fine." She grinned.

"Alright." He smiled, "So what do you want to do today Buff?" He stepped inside and headed to the kitchen, sitting down on a stool in front of the island counter. "You still want to go to the beach?"

A weird look came over Buffy's face as she remembered the dream from last night. "Why don't we just go to the mall, it's supposed to rain today."

Pike shrugged indifferently, "Whatever you want Buff."

"Okay then… Let's go." Buffy grabbed her house keys from the counter, "Woah, woah, woah. What's the hurry Buffy?" Pike asked taking her shoulders, "Don't you just want to hang here for a while?" He raised an eyebrow kissing her forehead.

"Uh, no let's just go." Buffy pulled away from him, not noticing the hurt look on his face.

***

They walked around the mall, went to the park, and even out to dinner. Buffy was acting very paranoid, and Pike couldn't seem to figure out why. And finally when they were out in the parking lot of the restaurant, Buffy for the billionth time looked around and over her shoulder before getting into the car. Pike shut the passenger door and climbed into the driver's seat and after a moment he said. "Buffy, what is wrong with you? You've been acting weird all day."

"Well, it's just this dream I had last night… It really shook me up." Pike started the car and laughed. Buffy glared at him. "It's not funny Pike."

"Yes it is." He smiled, "All day I thought there was another guy or something."

"Ohh," Buffy rolled her eyes, "Don't think like that Pike. You know you're the only one for me." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks Buff." Pike smiled and pulled on to her street and into her drive way. He killed the engine and hopped out of the car and around to the passenger's side he opened Buffy's door and offered his hand, "My lady." He gave an exaggerated bow and a goofy smile.

Buffy returned his smile and regally put out her hand and allowed him to help her up. As soon as she was up Pike pulled her in and gave her a long kiss on the lips. Buffy never got tired of the warm sensation she got when she kissed Pike. She had kissed other boys, but they were just dumb jocks for the most part. Pike was so deep and emotional and Buffy loved it when he kissed her.

Finally when they pulled away Buffy gave him another swift kiss on the cheek. "Night Pike." She turned and began to walk into the house.

"Sweet dreams tonight 'k Buff?" Pike called after her.

"Okay." Buffy smiled, unlocked the door to her house and walked to the kitchen; she dropped her keys on the counter and fumbled around for a light switch.

Her back was to the island counter and she shuffled through the old newspapers on the counter for a few moments until she heard, "Hello Buffy." She whipped around and gave a small yelp.

"Merrick!" She put a hand to her heart, "You know… If I hadn't been sort of expecting you all day you would've given me a heart attack… I didn't figure to find you here though… In my house… in my kitchen." She frowned, "How did you get in here anyway?"

Merrick chuckled. "That's the first thing you ask me?"

"Oh yeah." Buffy shrugged. "I guess I was already sort of prepared from the dream last night… But aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Well yes." Merrick sighed, "And I was hoping to stay that way… I mean all the vampires were gone-"

"They are all gone, right Merrick?" Buffy shifted her eyes nervously.

"If they were all gone, I wouldn't be here now would I?"

Buffy sighed and flopped down on the stool across from him. "Vampires are back Buffy, and they're… different from what you're used to. Why don't you grab us some soda, this is quite the story." Shrugging, Buffy pulled out some Diet Coke from the fridge and slid one to Merrick and popped the top to hers.

"Well it began with the ones I heard of in Italy…." Merrick began.

***

It was a long story and after Merrick wrapped it up Buffy blinked a few times and said, "So lemme get this straight…. They… sparkle…. in the…. sunlight?"

"Yes."

"They *sparkle*?" Buffy repeated.

"Yes Buffy." Merrick replied exasperated. "I can't believe I just told you about marble killers who can't be killed with wooden stakes and the only thing you can think about is that they *sparkle*?"

"I'm sorry Merrick." Buffy sputtered, between giggles, "It's just… the funniest thing I have ever heard!"

"It won't be so funny when you're cornered and not even garlic can help you." Merrick mumbled.

"I can handle it." Buffy said, suddenly straight-faced.

"I don't know Buffy, these creatures are unlike anything else you've dealt with before…. But…." He sighed and pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket, "You are the chosen Slayer." He shook his head. "I was expecting to get some unwillingness from you Buffy. You want to go out and fight these new creatures?"

"Well I figure I don't really have a choice, and rather than have these super-powered sparkling things control the world I figure I may as well do it now."

"I'm impressed Buffy." Merrick said, raising an eyebrow. "You took a lot more convincing last time."

"Well you know… It's summer, and I'm totally bored." She shrugged, "Where do I have to go, are they hanging around town? I haven't seen any sparkling people walking down the street." She snorted.

"Well the last time I checked there was a large concentration of them in Italy, they call themselves the Volturi." The room became silent at the name, and after a few seconds Merrick slid the envelope across the table towards Buffy. "These are two plane tickets to Italy. One for you and…" He swallowed, "One for Oliver-"

"Pike." Buffy interrupted, smiling.

Merrick rolled his eyes, "Pike… Now, I wouldn't normally put the life of a non-Slayer at risk… However," He paused, "Pike seemed to be of great help to you last time, and with all the trouble these vampires are…"

Buffy interrupted, "Puh-lease." She waved her hand, "If they're even half as hard to kill as Lothos was supposed to be, it'll be a piece of cake. I'll be done in a week."

Buffy began to get up from the table, but Merrick grabbed her wrist and she sat back down.

"Buffy I don't think you understand. These are different from any other vampire you've faced before. There is not even a record of them from journals of former Slayers." He stopped and the silence was deafening. "After some extensive digging around the libraries and archives around the globe I found out some more about them." He paused again, "Buffy these vampires are not easy to kill. They have to be cut apart and burned before you can even consider them to be dead. Wooden stakes are not going to help you this time."

"Fine." Buffy looked him in the eyes, "But I still want to save the world." She gave him an eager grin.

Merrick shrugged, "Then I think you're going to need this." He reached down to a case he had been hiding at his feet. He put the rather large case on the table and clicked it open. "Buffy, how familiar are you with flamethrowers?"


	2. Chapter 2: The Waiting Room

Chapter 2

_The Waiting Room_

Imagine the worst, most distastefully decorated and dilapidated waiting room you have ever been in and multiply it by a trillion and add the smell of corpses. Yes, that was where Betelgeuse was waiting and had been waiting for quite some time.

The white, dark eyed, moss covered Betelgeuse gave an exaggerated sigh and looked unbelievingly at his number for the gazillionth time:

Nine trillion, nine hundred ninety eight billion, three hundred eighty three million, seven hundred fifty thousand. Betelgeuse slowly turned his head toward the counter, on the "now serving" screen the number was…

Betelgeuse closed his eyes and slowly opened one reluctantly. The screen read: now serving one million twenty two thousand and seven. "Gah!!!" Betelgeuse bashed his head against the wall.

"It's been eight months… and who knows how many years on the Outside and you haven't even gotten into the billions yet!? What kind of service IS THIS?!" He jumped up and all of the ghastly patrons in the waiting room didn't even look up, he did this often.

Miss Argentina opened the receptionist window "Shut UP Betelgeuse. Believe me, I wish your number was up too, but there is nothing I can do about it. You think anybody LIKES you in here?" She slammed the window with quite a force and many of the members of the waiting room murmured and nodded in consent.

Betelgeuse kicked the leg of the couch he had been sitting on and it collapsed, "Not even decent FURNITURE in here." He yelled to no one in particular and he sat down on the higher point on the couch, but slowly slid to the floor. He folded his arms and heaved a great sigh.

He hadn't been able to switch numbers with anybody, the old "Elvis" trick got really old, really fast, and even when Elvis had been sitting next to him not even the King was dumb enough to fall for Betel's number switching trick.

There was a small ding and the now serving sign was now serving one million twenty two thousand and eight. Betelgeuse slunk down on to the floor his legs stretched out and his arms behind his head, hoping that someone might trip on him. He closed his eyes and began to snore, obnoxiously loud.

What Betel really wanted was attention, but most people ignored him, following the sign that Miss Argentina had placed above his permanent seat on the couch. **Do not look at, talk to, or feed the Betelgeuse**.

"Cute." He had sneered, "But you know what babs? It takes a lot for people to ignore'ahh me." He had given a wink and she had thrown up her hands and given a disgusted sound and marched back behind the desk.

And unfortunately much to Betel's consternation, the sign had ultimately worked, the blonde who had sat next to him one time, looked like she had died by a small bullet wound to the chest, had observed the sign, looked at Betelgeuse and even after he had said some of the best pick up lines he knew she still ignored. Betel saw the smug look on Miss Argentina's face and had to restrain himself from throwing the lamp at her stupid little window. To make it worse, the blonde's number had been billions before his and she was called within ten or fifteen minutes.

And Betelgeuse was still sitting here painfully aware of the really stupid joke the Fates, or at least Juno was playing on him with this ridiculously huge number. There was no getting by this, or around it, so he was stuck in this point in the line and it seemed the Netherworld would enforce that.

Also to his disgust, for whatever reason, anyone who came in was before him in line. He pondered for a minute or two, and held the number above his eyes squinting at it and wrinkling his upper lip, showing his disgusting, yellow teeth. Were there even nine trillion people in the world? Would there ever be nine trillion people in the world?

"Barugh!!!!!!!!" Betel ripped the stupid number into bits, only to have it put itself back together again in front of his eyes. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" He banged his head against the wall, which seemed to be having a worse time than he was, as Betel's hair was really, really gross. One would have to feel sorry for the wall.

Minutes passed, they turned into hours, which turned into days, and Betel lost count. He tried to strike up conversations with new people who came in, who might not have seen the sign. But everyone, from the lightning singed guys to the ladies with chopped off heads would not even look at him, much less speak to him. He began to have a sneaking suspicion that somehow, some way Juno forewarned people about him before they got there.

So instead of talking to people he began to insult them, "Heyyy, niice _head_, did you do that yourself? I especially like the serrated edges." He had said to a woman holding her head in the crock of her arm.

"How did you die? Walking into a glass door?" That earned him a pitiful nod from the flat-faced man who had sat next to him but nothing more. This gave Betel a nice laugh, because he hadn't actually been serious, but the more people that came in, and the more comments he made, the more they ignored him and the more Betel got frustrated.

One day he jumped up and screamed, "I can't TAKE IT anymore!" Betelgeuse stormed over to Miss Argentina's window and slammed his fists on the counter. "Seriously, if someone doesn't get me out of here soon-"

Suddenly the door slid open and the man who was simply road kill hung loosely in the door. "Betelgeuse? Juno will see you now." "Oh YEAH!" He fell to his knees and pumped his fists in the air. "Hallelujah!! You hear THAT you bunch of losers?! I'm OUTTA HERE!!" He jumped in the air and tapped his feet together and rushed toward the door.

Once he was on the other side of the slammed door, the entire room of dead people sighed in unison and said "Thank god." And all went back to leafing through magazines and newspapers.

Betel looked up at the road kill guy, "Eddie! How the hell are you? I haven't seen you in, I don't know, fifty years? You're lookin' great, flatter than ever…" Eddie rolled his eyes, "Third door Betelgeuse."

Betel jauntily skipped down the hallway, and counted the doors until he reached an impressive looking oak door. "Three." He said looking down and nodding appreciatively at the nice door, he wanted to keep Juno waiting… He'd been waiting for at least eight months.

"Betelgeuse get in here dammit!" He heard Juno's angry voice from the other side and he rolled his eyes and scrunched his lips to the side. Reluctantly Betel pushed open the door, not even a creak; what a _freak_! Juno even oiled her hinges. Betelgeuse took a tentative step inside the large stately office. "Sit down." Juno's harsh voice commanded from behind a stack of files.

Betel stepped giddily across the room and spun around in the chair before facing Juno. The old woman glared at him and threw a huge file down on the table. Betelgeuse admired it lovingly, it must've weighed at least five pounds and he would bet his arm that there was at least another closet, if not a room filled with more paperwork on him.

"So what do I owe this'uh… honor?" He asked rolling his head to the syllables in 'honor' and blinking his eyes slowly at Juno.

She took a heavy drag on her cigarette and said, "Shut up Betelgeuse, you idiot."

Betel wasn't done, "Hey I'd _love_ to chat, but 'ja know I've been sitting in what must be the closest thing to hell for a number of months and well, I'd really like a smoke… So would'ja?" He reached out his white hand with disgustingly long, yellowed nails toward Juno.

She turned her lip up in disgust, "Would ya listen?" She looked at him like a mother would look at an incredibly stupid, ugly, misbehaving child, and took another long drag on her now stubby cigarette. She flicked it at Betelgeuse's head, whose hair caught slightly on fire. He licked his fingers and squished the flame between his two fingers.

"Thanks." He said incredibly sarcastically, Juno was lighting up another cigarette as Betelgeuse put his feet up on her desk, she grabbed a particularly large paperweight and smashed one of his feet, Betel shoot up in his seat and shot a dirty glance toward Juno.

"So do you want to know why you're here or do you want to go back to the waiting room," Juno said boredom in her raspy smoker's voice. "Sure, why not… Missed the photo shoot for GQ months ago," He checked an imaginary watch on his wrist and sucked on his teeth, "So I guess I got time." He leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. Juno took another steadying drag on the cigarette; she needed it to deal with him.

"First off, people hate you… and you're annoying everyone in the waiting room."

"Isn't that what you wanted me there for?" Betelgeuse asked innocently.

Ignoring him, she continued, "Secondly, _I_ hate you and I want you to get as far away from here as possible."

Betel crossed his legs theatrically and placed his hands neatly folded on his knees. He opened his eyes and leaned in, listening intently. Juno couldn't ignore the stupid half grin on his face, but she looked away quickly with a sigh.

"The Council wants to lock you up on Titan, but you already got away from the sandworm Mrs. Maitland sic'ed on you… Then they thought of really demoting you, making you just a slightly annoying poltergeist who just moves candles around and crap like that." She took a puff of the cigarette, smoke wafting from the slit in her neck, just above the ruffled collar.

"But then, something else came up."

"Worse than me? Well, it must _really_ be bad then huh babs?" Betelgeuse took a cigarette from her desk and put it in his mouth, he puffed a bit and suddenly it ignited, he took a puff on it and blew it into Juno's face.

"Vampires." Juno said, "Instead of sending you away, we actually want you to deal with vampires." Betelgeuse chocked on the cigarette smoke, "You actually want my help?!" He yelped incredulously, with not a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Juno nodded gravely, "We couldn't think of any other option… and with that stunt you pulled with Dracula a few centuries ago…"

"Hey." Betel interrupted and held up his hands, "Woah, slow down babs, that actually wasn't my fault. I was hangin' with Drac havin' a nice time, we had a bit too many drinks and forgot it was morning and went outside and… BAM! Drac burst into flames. I actually feel sorta bad about it…." He paused. "Actually no, I don't, it was hysterical to see." He chortled at the rather fond memory. "So you want me to go have some drinks with some annoying vampires and lead 'em into the sunlight? That's hardly a reason to-"

Juno shook her head, "No Betelgeuse, these are different. They give the paranormal and the supernatural a bad name. Not to mention they're way too powerful. They're a threat to the balance of peace in the world as we know it.

They can't be killed by normal means. That's where you come in." Juno gestured toward him; "You're good," she shuddered as the words came from her mouth, "with these sorts of things Betelgeuse and we want you to put an end to these vampires. We figure that instead of sitting around here annoying _us_ you can just annoy _them_ to death." She gave a bored shrug and held her hand up palm up, wafting the cigarette smoke around the room.

"Well, what's in it for me?" Betelgeuse leaned forward and cocked an eyebrow. Juno sighed deeply, she knew this was coming. "If you exterminate all the vampires, you can go free. No strings attached. But… we're kinda hoping you die in the process… To be truthful." She braced herself, and Betelgeuse flew from his seat and bounced giddily around the room cheering.

Finally he sat back down, and snorted grinning deeply, "Well where do I sign up!? I'll take care of those vamps for you… Its hardly a life threatening situation, just as long as I get free once they're all gone….. So any other info that I should know, babs?"

"They… sparkle, in the sunlight." Juno said thoughtfully, Betel snorted again and grinned a lopsided half grin. "Well, what're they _gay_ or something?"

Juno squinted her eyes and leaned forward, "No Betelgeuse you idiot they're not gay they just sparkle. Okay?"

Betel rolled his eyes and scrunched his mouth to the side. "Hey whatever you say," he said holding up his hands.

"Okay Betelgeuse we're sending you to Italy. Just… get rid of the vampires, okay?" Juno looked at him, beginning to think she and the Council had made a mistake.

"Right-o," Betel said standing up and giving a mock salute. With a snap of Juno's fingers Betel vanished from the room.

Juno put her head in her hands puffing on the cigarette clenched between her teeth. "That was not a good idea." She mumbled and shook her head slowly from side to side. "I really hope he doesn't make it." She said, and let her head fall on to her desk.

***

Betelgeuse landed on a sidewalk, hard. "Thanks for the smooth landing Juno." He mumbled getting up and brushing himself off. He looked around, was this Italy? He took a few steps around, but he started to feel a tingling sensation in his chest, it spread to his arms, and after a few seconds the tingling turned into a pulling sensation… and as soon as Betelgeuse had landed in Italy he was snapped away again. Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse had been summoned.


	3. Chapter 3: Leaving Home

Chapter 3

_Leaving Home_

Eighteen year old Lydia Deetz walked hand in hand with a tall handsome boy. He had the look of a football player of him and he was in stark contrast to the pale, black haired, black clothed Lydia. She smiled lovingly up at him, her boyfriend of three years.

"Why the sudden walk?" She asked laying her head on his shoulder. "I mean I have packing to do… but I don't mind spending time with-"

"Lydia… We need to talk." The boy said uncomfortably, Lydia pulled her head away from his arm and looked up into his eyes with a frightened look.

"We're both going to college in completely different places in a few moths Lydia… I just don't know if I can do a long distance relationship."

Lydia took a step backward, "You're breaking up with me?"

"Well… uh yeah. I just don't think we could do it, and I mean, Lydia you're great we've been going out since, what end of Freshman year? But… we're seniors now Lydia… and well, honestly? I'm a little tired of the goth look."

Lydia gave a disdainful snort, "Well… Maybe I'm a little sick and tired of the stupid football player look, you loser. If you want to break up? Fine." She curled her lip and turned on her heel, marching purposefully away.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "That actually went better than I expected." He shrugged. "Why didn't I go for the cheerleaders?" He shook his head and walked the other way.

When she knew he was out of earshot and couldn't see her anymore Lydia began to cry as she ran, stumbling toward home. She ran blindly up the hill, the steps, and into the front door of the architecturally strange-looking house.

She ran inside and slammed the door behind her, crumpling into a heap on the inside of the door. Suddenly there was a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Lydia, honey, what's wrong?"

Lydia and her tearstained face looked up into the caring eyes of Barbara Maitland, and she stuttered, "D-d-danny, b-broke up with m-me. He-he said that the l-long distance rel-relationship wouldn't work out." Lydia gave another sob and wiped her eyes with her black sleeve, still crumpled on the floor.

Barbara looked at her husband Adam and they shared a sad look with each other. "Lydia, there are other boys out there." Barbara smoothed Lydia's black hair down, and brushed some out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ears.

"But I loved Danny." Lydia sobbed.

"Listen, Lydia, weren't you just saying that he was a stupid football player last night?" Adam smiled, and Lydia's lips gave a small ghost of a smile. "But he was my stupid football player." She choked out, "And he was my first boyfriend after the…." Barbara and Adam looked at each other, '_The Betelgeuse Incident'_ is what Lydia would have said, but she still couldn't even say his name. Not after he had forced her into an almost marriage and traumatized her fourteen year old mind. It had taken Lydia quite a bit of therapy to stop even the nightmares. Danny had come along at just the right time, to be the perfect man in a relationship; to love Lydia when she was feeling that the only man who would ever love her was the moldy, corpsey, beer-bellied, creep Betelgeuse.

"Aw honey," Barbara stopped, not knowing what else to say, and instead stroked her hair lovingly. Lydia sighed and let out another sob and leaned into Barbara.

"I loved him," she whispered, "And he loved me, at least I thought he did… I thought that finally someone other than……" She gulped not wanting to say Betelgeuse's name, "he. Could love me." She held on to the sleeves of Barbara's dress, clinging like a child who had lost her teddy bear.

"Lydia. You will find love. You're only a senior in high school for goodness sake." Barbara smiled, "You've got the rest of your life to live." Lydia looked up at Barbara and gave a small smile.

"Thanks Barbara, but I think I'd like to be alone now."

"Okay honey." Barbara smiled and kissed Lydia's head giving her one last squeeze before Lydia trudged up the stairs.

"She'll be okay." Adam put his arm around Barbara's shoulders, "We knew we would have to deal with her first breakup sooner or later… I think you did great honey." Adam gave Barbara a reassuring squeeze and the pair went back to sitting on the couch.

Lydia stepped into her darkly decorated room. It was painted black and there were purple, silky sheets on her bed, there were various boxes scattered around her room. She was packing, summer was ending and she was preparing for college.

She opened up her closet and began some more packing, humming to herself. She was trying to keep her mind off Danny, and especially off Betelgeuse. She had almost forgotten the creep had ever existed, and unfortunately he had. She pulled out a black dress and neatly folded it before putting it into a cardboard box, she got into a rhythm of doing this with her various articles of clothing until, at the back of her closet, in a heap, was a pile of blood red frills and lace.

The dress. Why hadn't she thrown it away? Hadn't she? Lydia shook her head; she thought she had erased every part of Betelgeuse from her life. A sudden, strange feeling came over her and she gently pulled the dress from its crumpled state. She held it up in front of her and shook it out, it was… beautiful. She shook it again and there was a clink on the floor. She looked down. The wedding ring. Laying the dress neatly on her bed, Lydia turned her attention to the wedding band on the floor. She picked it up, lovingly and put it on her left ring finger.

He had pulled it off some other woman's finger when he had produced it from his coat pocket, but suddenly Lydia didn't care. Betelgeuse was the only man…. thing, who had ever loved her. She wondered where he was now. Was he dead? Was he okay? He was almost her husband; she pondered that for a moment. He might as well have been, the little priest had produced them man and….

Had not said the last word, wife. But he might as well have said it… Lydia dreamily walked over to her full-length mirror on her closet door, and held the dress in front of her, swishing its skirts.

She held it up in front of her; it looked great with her skin, her hair… Betelgeuse certainly did have a nice taste…. Suddenly, she missed him. Part of her couldn't believe that she was thinking it, and her brain was screaming at her to burn the dress, take off the ring, but the other part of her was lonely. Her heart was aching; it always had been, even for those past three years.

She wanted to see her groom, "Betelgeuse." She whispered into the lacy dress in her arms. "Betelgeuse." She said breezily to the ring on her finger. "Betelgeuse." She said a third time to the ceiling, her voice barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes, letting his name wash over her, savoring it on her tongue and then…

She stood up. _Crap!_ What was she thinking!? She had just called Betelgeuse three times! He was going to appear here any second now, she had to do something but as she sat on her bed, stunned trying to think, and unable to process all the thoughts running through her head…. He appeared.

Betelgeuse was standing in the middle of the room, he was turning about disoriented, but then he caught sight of her. Lydia? His bride? What!? "Hey babes! I'm hooome!" He smiled and perched himself next to her on the side of her bed, "Never thought I'd see you again darling." He glanced at her, and picked his teeth.

Lydia's face crumpled in disgust, "Oh sorry. Forgot… You don't like that." He held up his hands and swayed to the side. "Aw, Lyds… I didn't realize how much you missed me babes! If I had known, I would have tried a lot harder to- Aw I just gotta kiss you!" He pulled her head toward him and planted a huge kiss right on her lips.

Lydia scrambled backwards wiping her mouth of in sheer disgust, "Betel-" He put a finger to her lips quickly, "Remember, the name thing."

He shook his finger, "C'mon babes… Can't I kiss my own wife?" He grinned wickedly. Suddenly his eye caught sight of the red fabric, "You saved our wedding dress! Aw, babes… I knew you loved me!" Lydia slowly sat back down next to him, she brushed her hair behind her ear. "And you're wearing the ring too! I know you don't like it, but I gotta kiss you again!" He maneuvered around and kissed her lips again.

This time Lydia didn't back away so quickly. What was it about him that didn't revolt her now? Was it the love he seemed to be giving? Was it her loneliness that made her not care?

"Hooo-weee! You're a great kisser, even when you're not trying!" Betelgeuse rubbed his hands together joyously.

"I… I guess, I kinda missed you Betel…" Lydia said, before she even thought about the words rolling out of her mouth.

"You did?" Betelgeuse was really surprised; he was not expecting _that_ at all. In fact, he was too shocked to even kiss her again. Then suddenly he was struck by a great idea. "You know babes… I've been given a special _assignment_ in Italy." He pulled on his jacket importantly. "We never _did_ go on our honeymoon… I figure maybe we can go there, since I gotta go there anyway."

Again Lydia didn't think about the words as they freely rolled out of her mouth. "Sure. I'd love to."

"Aw babes, I KNEW you would!" He kissed her again and snapped his fingers. In a flash of light the two were gone.

***

Delia Deetz walked into her stepdaughter's room. "Lydia! Barbara told me… Lydia?" She glanced around, "LYDIA?!" Adam, Barbara, and Charles Deetz ran to Lydia's room.

Barbara stepped in followed by Adam, "She's gone! Why do I feel like Betelgeuse has something to do with this?"

Charles gave a twisted frown. "Maybe this tipped you off." Adam picked up the red wedding dress and held it up for everyone to see.

"She had to have summoned him. He couldn't have come here alone." Adam shook his head. "But why would she do that?"

"She's hurting" Barbara shrugged, "And that's enough of a reason for her to summon her 'husband'." The entire group looked uneasily at each other. "I hope she'll be okay." Barbara murmured.

"Lydia's a big girl. If she summons unruly creatures, she must be able to handle it herself." Delia said matter-of-factly and turned on her heel and walked out the door.

Barbara turned disgustedly to Charles. "How can you stand that woman?" Charles could only shrug.


	4. Chapter 4: Alone

Chapter 4

Alone

He was alone. He was _utterly_ alone. Not only was he alone, but his heart was aching. Aching for Kim. "I love you." She had said, and she had kissed him. Kissed him! Edward, with scissors for hands. Edward who wasn't finished, who lived in the dark, and was hated by virtually everyone he had ever come into contact with.

It hadn't always been that way, but sometimes something so good can turn out so… bad. Edward didn't even fully understand; it was all so confusing and all he wanted was Kim. Kim and her soft red hair and doe eyes: he had loved her since he saw the picture of her in Peg's living room and now she loved him too.

Why didn't she come back? Did she really mean the three little words she had whispered into his scarred, pale ear? If she did, why didn't she come? Edward raked his hands down the walls in anger and frustration. Why… didn't… she… COME?

He fell back onto his small cot, which had been shredded by his hands over the years. He curled up and began to cry; they had said he was innocent, child-like, and not fit to live in the outside world. Now he understood why; it hurt. It hurt to be thrown into a world of people and love, only to be banished back into darkness again. It's not so hard to miss something until you know its there, then its really hard not to miss it.

Edward had lived alone for years but now every day, every waking second was misery. Every moment without Kim had turned his once simple life into a living hell. Edward kicked the wall at the foot of his bed.

As if it was an answer to his frustration he heard a voice "Edward!" He was silent, he held his breath. Could he be hearing things? "Edward!" He heard it again, could it be? Could it be _her_?

It was the middle of the night, but she had left her home and come _here_, why was she here? Did she really love him? "Edward!" The voice was closer again, and accompanied by the sound of footsteps running up the stairs, running up the two flights into the attic.

Then she was there at the door and he was standing up and she was running and she throwing herself breathless into his arms and was crying "I'm sorry I'm sorry" and he only said, "I love you Kim." Then they were silent because Edward had taken her chin and lifted it with the most gentle movement and was kissing her lips and she was kissing him back and they didn't even care because this time there was no angry mob, and most importantly no Jim.

"Edward." Kim spoke, in between the breathless kisses, "We need to leave. I'm leaving and I'm taking you with me. I can't sleep, knowing that you're alone here." "Where are we going Kim?" Edward asked quietly, stepping back and peering into her eyes.

"I don't know. But I have two bus tickets to the airport, so we have to leave right now." Suddenly her eyes looked down, suddenly remembering the one thing that kept Edward away from the rest of the world: his hands.

"I'm not finished." Edward said quietly, "I know. I know." Kim murmured, looking around the room, trying to think. She sighed helplessly, and threw up her hands. "Maybe if you really keep to yourself nobody will notice." She nodded her head, in a way reminiscent of her mother's nods. "Let's go Edward… Now."

***

The drive to the bus station was uneventful; Kim had noticed someone, maybe Marge, staring out the window of her pastel colored house on the way out of the neighborhood. "Stay down Edward." Kim had hissed.

The ticket taker at the bus station hadn't even blinked at Edward's hands; he looked tired, if not dead and Edward and Kim had easily gotten on the bus. Edward, who had never been on a bus before, stared intently out the window at the passing lights.

Kim looked over at Edward and gave a small smile, she had given him the window seat; she knew this was a new and exciting experience for him. He took in all the sights: even though it was pitch black outside Edward still drank in everything that he could see in the darkness. Blobs of trees, silhouettes of passing cars, Edward couldn't peel his eyes away from the window.

The lady across the aisle from them stared for a while; she was fascinated by Edward's hair and pale skin. She was an older lady with a purple dress with a floral print. Kim smiled politely at her and the little wrinkled lady's face turned slightly red, embarrassed she had been caught staring, and turned to the knitting needles in her hands.

Kim turned back and watched Edward until her eyelids became heavy and slowly she fell into a deep sleep lulled by the clicking of knitting needles, and Edward Scissorhands was the last thing she saw.

***

The bus stopped and Kim's eyes shot open. Edward was still in the same position from the night before, staring out the window with a smile from ear to ear like a kid at Christmas. Kim yawned and stretched curling her toes and rotating her stiff wrists.

Edward pulled his eyes away from the window, "Kim?" "Good morning Edward." She replied groggily. She ached all over: the seats in the bus were incredibly uncomfortable and smelled of leather polish and cheap cigar smoke.

Kim glanced out the window into the morning sunlight, they were at the airport and she still wasn't quite sure where she was going to take herself and Edward, it all depended on the price tag, but she was really hoping to get out of the country.

Kim waited until the scarce amount of people filed out of the bus and then she tapped Edward's shoulder and led him off the vehicle. It was very early in the morning and the pair quickly got to the front of the line. "How may I help you?" The bored looking receptionist looked up and clicked her fluorescent blue nails on the counter top and blew a bubble through her red lips.

"We want to get out of the country." Kim said quickly, "Right." The receptionist said in a monotone voice, "But we need the cheapest price, if one way is cheaper…" Kim trailed off and the lady glanced at her tiny computer screen.

"Italy." The woman said, snapping her gum. "Italy?" Kim asked skeptically. "Yeah, 250 bucks a piece. On sale, travel there has been slow lately…" "But why?" Kim asked. The receptionist grinned, lips itching with the gossip. "I hear lots of tourists have been disappearing there lately, just like" she snapped her fingers, "that." She snapped her gum to further accentuate her words.

Kim's mouth hung open, her lip curling ever slightly. She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, and bent over to dig through her purse. "I've got eight hundred dollars," she pulled out five hundred and smacked it down on the counter. "Two tickets to Italy."

The receptionist rolled her eyes and shrugged "Your funeral." She said barely above a whisper. Kim snatched up the two tickets, coach of course, but it wasn't really necessary to travel first class was it?

Kim frowned, what was she doing? Why was she doing this? She shook her head, she needed to get away. The stares from the neighbors the threat letters from people she knew must have been Jim's parents: she couldn't take it anymore, especially not when she knew Edward was alone in his mansion. She was doing this for him and maybe Italy was the answer to her problems, their problems.

They boarded the plane at eight in the mroning; but it was at least a ten hour flight, Kim hoped the seats would be more comfortable than the bus. They were; and again she drifted off to sleep with a joyous Edward staring out the window as the last thing she saw.


	5. Chapter 5: Volterra

Chapter 5

_Volterra_

Buffy stepped drowsily off a bus in Volterra, Italy. It had been a long journey from LA; Merrick had sent them on first class to Rome, where they boarded another, smaller plane to Pisa from which they took a five hour bus ride to Volterra.

Pike however, was wide awake and excited at the new surroundings. He glanced down at the guidebook, "Volterra is known for its beautiful architecture and delicious food." He glanced at Buffy, "I'm hungry already." He licked his lips and Buffy only yawned.

Pike continued to read from the guidebook in the afternoon sunlight."For those interested in the paranormal and rich folklore, Volterra has its own history with that of its patron saint, Saint Marcus. In fact Volterra is known for its yearly celebration of Saint Marcus Day, which is they day that thousands of years ago Saint Marcus himself drove out all the vampires in the city with garlic and wooden stakes." Pike stopped reading and curiously looked over to Buffy.

"If this Saint Marcus guy drove all the vampires out of here then why-" Buffy interrupted him and hissed, "Keep your voice down, Merrick said this city is _crawling_ with these vampires. We don't want them to know why we're here." She glanced about. "_Anybody _could be a member of the Volturi… Merrick said they use things such as false skin to hide their sparkle in the sun, but they mostly keep to the shadows."

Pike's eyes widened slightly as he too, looked around. "Okay," Buffy continued, "Merrick made reservations for us in a hotel…" She glanced down at a notepad she had pulled from her Coach handbag. "Park Hotel le Fonti…" Buffy read, and Pike glanced over his guidebook.

"Supposed to be a real nice place… Pool, great view, beautiful _architecture_." He said smiling brightly, "You know if it weren't for the whole _slaying vampires_ deal, this could be a real nice vacation."

Buffy widened her eyes and tilted her head in annoyance, "Pi-iike." She said, making his name into two syllables with a nagging tone. "Stop with the v-word!"

"Okay, okay." He mumbled, "It's just that everything is so exciting here…"

"Whatever." Buffy sighed, "Let's just get to the hotel? I'm suffering from some _serious_ jet lag… and I need to sleep." She stopped, suddenly remembering something.

"Merrick said that an interpreter would meet us here… I don't speak Italian, but I haven't seen her yet." She put a finger to the side of her mouth in thought.

"Let's go sit over there and wait around for this… what's her name again?" Pike looked at Buffy questioningly.

"Flavia." She shrugged and glanced over to the bench which was by an ornate white fountain under the shade of a small tree. "Good idea… I'm sort of hungry though." She looked at Pike with a half smile, "And I've heard so much about Italian gelato… and there _is_ a stand over there…"

Pike sighed and frowned jokingly, "Okay, you wait right here…. I'll go get some gelato." He grinned and ran off, as Buffy sat on a bench with their two suitcases stacked at her feet.

***

From the shadows around the edges of the Piazza, Buffy and Pike were being watched. "Alfonso." A young girl's voice called harshly, with a strange sense of authority despite the fact it was so young a voice. "Yes, Jane?" The older, cloaked figure crooned, his deep silky voice would have sent shivers down the spines of any human who heard it.

"Inform Marcus that there is a vampire _slayer_ here." Her voice was sarcastic, as if she was thinking the whole thing was a joke. "Report back to me once you have spoken with him… I will be watching the girl." Jane looked up at Alfonso, her red eyes flashing.

"Go _now,_ or shall I tell Marcus how incompetent you are?" She smiled devilishly, strangely out of place on her cherub-like face. "Yes Jane." Alfonso bowed and took off, into the shadows. Jane seethed; Alfonso was new to patrolling with her, but that didn't give him any right to not obey her orders _immediately_.

Jane glared at the blonde girl happily sitting on a bench near the fountain in the center of the Piazza. "Enjoy yourself for now Buffy… I'll be watching." Jane hissed and gave an evil half smile and drew her dark cloak tighter about her face.

***

Betelgeuse landed face down on the cobblestone street with a loud THUD, followed by Lydia who landed on his back with a softer thud. "Nice landing." She said sarcastically and folded her arms. Betel ignored her and instead opted to say. "You know babes you should sit on me more often, it's hot… And you need to get comfortable with the fact that we're marri-" Lydia shrieked in revulsion and jumped off him.

"You're disgusting." She looked down at him, her lip curled slightly. "Thank you." He smiled, getting up he brushed himself off and straightened his tie. Lydia threw up her hands and rolled her eyes.

Dropping the subject Lydia instead looked around, trying to focus on her surroundings rather than Betelgeuse. "Where are we anyway?" She looked up and down appreciating the side of the building they had landed next to. "Nice architecture. You don't see stuff like this in the alleys of America." She mused running her hand down the carvings on the stone wall. "It must have taken _years_ to carve these… Imagine chipping away at stone and making _this_?" She shook her head in amazement.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what everyone says… But I-" Betelgeuse smacked a bug on the wall right in front of Lydia's face and popped it into his mouth. Lydia watched in horror as he chewed it up noisily and swallowed with a gulp. "I think the bugs here are great."

Lydia made a gagging noise and turned to leave the alley. "What city is this?" She asked again not looking at Betel who was busy finding a few more bugs on the wall and stuffing a few into his pockets mumbling "Ooooh, save those for later" With a giddy grin on his face all the while.

Betel sauntered to Lydia's side, "Welcome to Volterra, Italy, babes." He gave a huge smile, and there were bug parts stuck in some of his teeth. Lydia wasn't sure if the legs and wings were from just now or from a much earlier time. Betelgeuse noticed her eyes staring at his mouth and he muttered, "Whoops sorry 'bout that," and began to pick his teeth.

"Volterra, huh?" Lydia murmured, looking away, her stomach threatening to lose any contents it had had in it for the past week. They began to walk, side by side down the bustling Italian street. "People are _staring_ Betelgeuse." Lydia frowned glancing at the appalled looks on people's faces to the even more appalling-looking Betelgeuse.

"Let 'em stare. I know I'm dashingly handsome…" He smoothed back his hair with a comb that suddenly appeared in his hand, "It's flattering but it gets old being stared at all the time." 'Time' came out of his mouth in the breezy way he had of speaking. He shrugged, "But what are you gonna do, I mean, people can't keep their eyes OFF me." He uttered a shrill giggle and gave a wide, open-mouthed smile to anyone who had the misfortune of watching him at that moment.

"So uhm, Betelgeuse," Lydia coughed, awkwardly trying to strike up a conversation. Betel rotated his head to face her and blinked, 'yeah?' his eyes said. "Why _are_ you here anyway?" He began to open his mouth with a smirk in his eyes, but Lydia quickly added, "Besides our _honeymoon_ that is." She kicked at some weeds that were growing out of the cracks between the stones on the street.

Betel glanced around and pulled Lydia back into a darker alley, he pulled her close and whispered. "I don't know if I'm allowed to _disclose_ this information to you…" He paused and wagged his eyebrows, "But I figure since you're here with me and we're married…"

"Just get on with it Betelgeuse." Lydia rolled her eyes, looking around at the gross alley: it had garbage all over, this place was just up Betel's well… alley. Betelgeuse glanced around again; Lydia sensed some sort of fake 'paranoia' emanating from him as if he half-heartedly thought someone was watching.

"Did you ever hear of Dracula, babes?" He gave a half smile interrupting her thoughts, "Uh, sure but what does that have to do-" Lydia began, but Betel interrupted her, "Hush, hush all in good time, all in good time Lyds… So anyway, it's my fault Drac is dead, long story but he and I had a few too many drinks forgot it was daylight-"

"o-KAY Betelgeuse, hurry up, your breath stinks." Lydia curled her nose. "Thank you." Betel smiled as if he had just received a great compliment and continued, "So anyway Juno… She's the sort of 'head' of things around in the Netherworld," He added, unsure if Lydia knew about Juno, "Anyways, Juno said I was annoying everyone down in the Netherworld so here I am. She wants me to take care of the "powerful" vampires around here… Haven't seen any yet, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled." He grinned and a potato peeler materialized in his hand.

"Gross Betelgeuse. Put that away!" Lydia screeched before he could raise the device to his eyes, "Hey, Lyds, I was only joking." Betel grinned impishly and the peeler disappeared.

Truth be told, Lydia was actually very intrigued by the subject of vampires, she needed to do a little more research on Volterra, but maybe her summer was finally looking up. Sure the company wasn't the greatest in the world, but Betelgeuse wasn't ALL bad. She looked up at him, he was in the middle of spitting on the sidewalk and was in the middle of a particular phlegmy snort when he noticed her watching, swallowed, and gave her a little wave with a sheepish smile. Lydia looked away disgustedly and went back to her thoughts.

Then she said outloud, "Wait a minute Betelgeuse… They sent _you_ to deal with their problems? What are you going to do? _Annoy_ them all to death?" She giggled, and Betelgeuse crossed his arms across his chest. "That's EXACTLY what they want me to do babes." He smiled and threw his arms out and waving his hands in a 'jazz hands' motion.

Lydia sighed heavily; somehow she knew it wouldn't be a joke to him. "Stop calling me babes, please?" She frowned, "Okay… babes." Betel snickered. Lydia slapped her hand to her forehead and moaned. "Can we just get something to eat _please_? I didn't eat lunch before you spirited me away." No matter how much Betel made her want to hurl she couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling in her stomach.

Betel raised an eyebrow and offered her his arm. "Shall we?" He gave a goofy smile and Lydia couldn't help but give a small grin, "Okay." She took his arm willingly and they walked off down the streets of Italy, looking for a nice café to have some lunch at… or at least find cockroaches under the tables.

***

"Who _are_ they?" The young boy hissed at his older female companion. "I am not sure Alec." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it was like a choir of bells tinkling in a breeze. "That one… Betelgeuse." The name felt foreign on Alec's tongue. "We must watch out for him."

"Yesss." Heidi smiled wickedly, "Perhaps I can bring him to Marcus, Aro, and Caius." She began to walk off, beginning to use a seductive gait to her stride. "No. You _fool_." Alec hissed again, "Let him go. If he becomes a threat to us then we will take action. Leave him be for now." The young boy stopped a moment to ponder, his blood red eyes clouded in thought.

"We will report back to Marcus. Surely he will know what to do with these…. Newcomers." His eyes flew to see Lydia and Betelgeuse rounding a corner and he gave a devil's smile, and once again that day the smile seemed out of place in the features of such an angelic looking child.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reading!! Please write reviews so I'm encouraged to write faster! 3


	6. Chapter 6: Planes and Windows

Chapter 6

_Planes and Windows_

It was the turbulence that woke her up. Kim was jolted awake to the gut wrenching motion of the plane jerking about all around her. A few carry on bags were falling from the storage compartments above, and the '**fasten your seatbelts sign**' had come on with a slight 'ding'.

Kim took all of this in within a few seconds; the sleep gone from her eyes as she looked next to her to make sure Edward was still there: he was. Though the plane was causing her much anxiety, the fact that Edward was safe relieved quite a bit of the tension she was feeling. She allowed herself to let her breath out; she hadn't even realized she had been holding it.

Edward was looking all around, fear in his eyes and Kim gave him a soothing pat on his shoulder and murmured everything was fine, she helped him buckle his seat belt keeping a calm face the whole time. Sometimes little lies were important: after all they kept the world in relative peace.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Kim snapped her attention to the small speaker in the front of the cabin that was broadcasting the pilot's voice. "We are experiencing some minor turbulence and we have to make an emergency landing in Volterra."

Kim looked up in confusion, she had woken up earlier when they had announced flying over Italy, but she had figured they would have landed in Rome or Venice; she hadn't really been sure where they were going and those were the only two cities that she knew of in Italy.

She caught sight of the man across the aisle shaking his head, "What's wrong? Do you know where Volterra is?" The man nodded, he had dark blonde hair and slightly tanned skin, he looked like he was in his early thirties.

"Volterra is in the middle of nowhere," He replied with a stately English accent. "Last time I checked the only airport..." he paused, "runway," he corrected himself, "was an old air force runway… Completely abandoned- or so I thought. It must be bad if we're making an emergency landing there." He shook his head again and Kim's eyes widened.

"Don't worry though miss." He added, noting her concern "I know the pilot, he's a professional. He wouldn't try the landing if it wasn't absolutely necessary and he wasn't sure he could land it." He gave a small smile and Kim couldn't help but wonder if he was telling a small lie too.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent into Volterra now. If you have not done so already, please fasten your seatbelts." The voice came over the loudspeaker again and Kim checked hers and Edward's seatbelts again.

Just then a man rushed by Kim and the English man down the aisle. He was coming towards them and Kim's breath was taken away. He was so handsome; like a male model he was lean with the slightest amount of muscle, but his skin was abnormally gray and she couldn't help but notice what appeared to be red eyes. She couldn't be sure though, as he had gone by so fast and she tried to brush it off as her imagination.

"Some people," the English man joked and rolled his eyes waving his hand toward the male model as he ran to his seat.

Kim smiled. "I didn't catch your name," she said sweetly, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm Paul Aldridge." He stuck out his hand in between a jolt of turbulence.

Kim cringed at the jerking of the plane but only for a second, and returned his hand with hers and answered. "Kim Boggs." She paused and turned to smile deeply at Edward, "This is Edward." She touched Edward's shoulder.

"We're traveling to Italy, but this is his first time on a plane." She gave Edward a gentle smile. Edward gave a small but frightened smile back, and then turned to stare wide-eyed out the window again.

"Well don't you worry Edward," Paul grinned. "I know the pilot, I'm positive the landing will go smoothly." He pushed his glasses up his nose and Edward turned his head again to acknowledge Paul speaking, then turned back to the window.

Paul turned to Kim. "If I'm wrong then you can come hunt me down in Hell." He laughed, Kim tried to laugh too but it came out in a more choking sound. It was not the sort of joke she needed to hear at a time like this.

"I'm sorry, Kim my friends tell me my sense of humor needs to be a little better." Paul's eyes sparkled in laughter. "I didn't mean to scare you." He smiled gently and Kim shook her head.

"No its fine. I guess… I just don't laugh very much." Another lie. But she didn't want to hurt Paul's feelings; he was, for the most part, taking her mind off the plane.

"I'm on planes all the time." Paul spoke again. "And I've hit turbulence worse than this. Why one time I was with my wife on our way to Hawaii and we hit such bad turbulence I wasn't sure we were going to make it." He paused. "But of course we did. So there's no need to worry." He added quickly. This, for whatever reason made the hair on the back of Kim's neck prickle and she shivered.

"You okay?" Paul asked, concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," Kim answered, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I guess I just got a slight chill. Is it cold in here?"

Paul nodded his head. "I think so, but then again I'm always cold." He smiled a half grin.

"Nothing a little scotch can't fix." He winked. "I'm friends with one of the stewardesses, if you want some, I can get it for you. It'll warm you right up and take your mind off-"

Kim shook her head, interrupting him. "No thank you. I don't drink." She smiled sweetly and thought, _"Especially when I'm about to die on an airplane."_

"Oh well then." Paul shrugged and noted Kim's frightened expression underneath the brave face she appeared to be putting on for Edward. "I'll tell you something though." Paul continued. "Hawaii wasn't all it was cracked up to be… I barely remember a thing and it wasn't even warm there. My wife, she was so sad the entire time. I didn't know why and we went home early. She likes it a lot more at home in England…" He trailed off, a distant look in his eyes.

"England is beautiful. Have you ever been there Kim?" After she shook her head he continued to relate stories of the city he grew up in during his childhood, what school he went to, how he met his wife… And it was the perfect distraction because before Kim knew it, the plane was taxiing down a small runway.

Her heart felt so free and she was lightheaded with giddiness to finally feel the plane underneath her on solid ground. All the passengers were ferried off the plane squawking excitedly like a group of geese.

Kim was so happy to be out of the plane but took care to pay close attention to Edward who would have been content to continue staring out the window of an unmoving plane, but came along anyway. She realized soon however, she had lost track of Paul Aldridge and she hadn't even gotten a chance to say goodbye or at least thank him for helping her not have a nervous breakdown.

All the passengers of the small plane were sitting around in a small warehouse; there were about one hundred of them and they were all talking excitedly, angrily, or sleepily all tones mixed together to produce a loud, annoying sounding hum.

Kim tried to block out the noise and looked around. This was indeed a military runway as Paul had described, there wasn't even a terminal for all the passengers to mill about in and the only seats around were crates.

Stewardesses were making rounds apologizing profusely on behalf of the airline and were offering to completely refund tickets or give free tickets to Rome. Kim of course chose to get the refund. She and Edward could hop on a bus to wherever they wanted to go, and maybe there were some nice hotels here in Volterra if she didn't feel like wasting any more money on travel. Plus she got all of her money back from the plane ticket, which was a great bonus.

Kim heard from fellow passengers that there had been something wrong with the engine along with whatever turbulence they had hit, and the pilot Steve Olson was making rounds apologizing personally to the passengers for the poor waiting conditions and awful flight.

When he reached Kim and Edward, Kim decided to ask about Paul, who had mentioned knowing the pilot. She hadn't seen Paul since they had left the plane and she wanted to make sure that her 'savior' had made it off okay.

"I met your friend, Paul Aldridge. He talked me through the turbulence… I barely noticed it. Thanks for landing us safely." Kim smiled when Steve had apologized for the flight. At the mention of Paul's name however, Steve's face turned completely white and Kim wondered what she had said wrong.

"Paul Aldridge?" Steve finally asked quietly.

"Yes, is something wrong?" Kim asked tilting her head in concern. Steve shook his head, "What did he look like?"

"Well," Kim began thoughtfully, "He had dark honey hair and medium toned skin, glasses, and an English accent. What's wrong?"

Steve became even paler, if that was possible, and then spoke. "I just haven't heard that name in about ten years."

"Oh I'm sorry; Paul said you were friends-"

Steve held up a hand, "We are, well… were." He looked down. "It's just that, Paul died on a plane trip to Hawaii about ten years ago. I just can't believe… you _spoke _to him?"

Kim was speechless. "Yes I… I'm sure…" Steve pulled out his wallet and fumbled around for something, until he pulled out a yellowing Polaroid picture. "Is this him?"

"Yes!" Kim gasped.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, beginning to get skeptical.

Finally Edward spoke; he had been sitting quietly on a crate behind Kim. "Kim doesn't lie," he said quietly, but firmly.

Steve Olson shook his head in disbelief. "Okay then." He took off his pilot's hat and scratched his head. "I'm glad Paul's doing okay… wherever he is. Uh, enjoy your stay in Italy." Steve shrugged and gave a phony smile to Kim and walked to the next passengers.

Kim shook her head unbelievingly and turned to Edward, "You saw Paul too right?" Edward thought a moment and gave a small unconvincing nod. "You didn't?" She gasped.

"I see what you do Kim." Edward replied quietly.

Kim sighed at this and picked up their one bag. "Let's go Edward." She looked out the large dusty window of the old warehouse they were in, realizing it was dusk. "I heard there's a bus stop a few miles down the road. So we're walking." She smiled gently, and crouched to look Edward in the eyes as a mother might to a small child. Edward nodded 'okay', and Kim threw the bag over her shoulder. Kim smiled and motioned for him to follow.

Edward returned the smile and followed Kim out the hanger door. With eight hundred dollars once again in her purse, Kim felt lighter and more optimistic about whatever was going to happen to them in Italy.

She tried to shake the thoughts of the red-eyed model but he creeped her out, she couldn't convince herself she had imagined that his eyes were red. She continued to walk down the dusty Italian path admiring the country surroundings but noting that the city wasn't very far away either. Five miles maybe. She figured they could skip the bus and just walk, it wasn't that far. "How do you feel about a nice long walk Edward?" Kim asked brightly and Edward only smiled in consent.

As she turned around to watch the sunset she could have sworn she saw Paul Aldridge staring at the two of them from the warehouse doors, waving, but it might have just been her eyes.

* * *

A/N: Yes, Kim can see dead people… Yes, I know Lydia can already do it, but Lydia's awesome and Kim didn't really have anything "useful" (unless you count beating people with wooden poles like she did to Jim… And that was when he was focused on something else). So I didn't want her to be a damsel in distress. ;)

Thanks for reading!! I really appreciate it, and I would love it if you leave reviews if you read… It helps me to write faster if I know there are people waiting. ;)


	7. Chapter 7: Thirst

Chapter 7

_Thirst_

Carlisle Cullen stared blankly out the wall of windows in the white living room.

_Esmé had loved those windows_.

He ran his fingers through his shaggy, unwashed hair and rubbed his grimy chin. He ambled mindlessly about the house. All the pictures had been torn off the walls and smashed on the floors in one of his fits of rage and loneliness. He picked one up of himself and Esmé and the glass cut through his finger accidentally but no blood ran down his hand.

_It would have cut Bella before…_ He trailed off, thinking of Bella's eighteenth birthday party. She cut herself on the broken glass; and bled like only a human could have. It was a good thing that the Others had only eaten animals then, or Bella would have been dead. But she was one of Them now, and she had abandoned Carlisle like the rest of Them.

Carlisle paced up to his study scratching the paint off the walls as he went. He didn't have an anxious vice like smoking or drinking: vampires had no need. But sometimes he wished he smoke or drank because maybe, just maybe it would have taken his mind off the pain, at least for a little while. So instead he destroyed the house.

He stepped into his study and drew the large velvet curtains.

_Esmé had picked them out_.

His body shook with another wave of pain as he sat back at his desk, remembering that day that it all began…

***

"Edward Cullen you give me that remote or I'll rip your arms off!" Alice cried in a voice that was too playful for the demand or the threat she was trying to make. She reached over until she was nearly sitting on him, reaching for the remote he was holding just out of her grasp.

"Excuse me Alice, dear." Edward responded in his smooth voice, "But you were watching a marathon of _Batman_ all morning and if I hear another corny 60s joke again I'm going to, if you'll excuse the term, barf." He smiled lopsidedly.

"But, Ed-waard!" Alice moaned, "Batman is classic! How can you not love the action and adventure?" She grinned impishly. "Besides what is a self respecting man like you doing watching _The Hills _anyway?" She grinned wickedly, "Is this another one of your secrets you've been hiding?" She folded her arms and gave him a "look" with a small wink.

Edward sighed deeply, "_No_ Alice I do _not _secretly watch The Hills." Edward looked at her disgustedly. Alice looked at him, grinning and listening with mock seriousness, just waiting for his explanation.

"As you know, Bella and Renesmee are hunting today, both of whom happen to _watch_ The Hills," He paused but Alice interrupted.

"But, like a good husband and father you are watching it for them to see what happens." She sighed and smiled devilishly. She tucked some of her dark hair behind her ear and sprung up from the couch, her hair immediately moved out of place but she tucked it again.

"I see." Alice said with a joking sadness. "I see you won't let me watch what I need to, I'll leave you and your favorite show in peace. Since you do recall there is such a thing as recording a show." She stuck her tongue out and chortled, bouncing out of the living room.

Edward shook his head annoyed, as an older brother might react to a much younger, much more _annoying_ sister. "Secretly watch The Hills. What is she _kidding_?" Edward mumbled this and a string of other annoyances under his breath until the commercial break and the theme song was over.

Just as he was beginning to focus on the actual plot of the episode Emmett walked in. "Seen Jasper?" Emmett asked nonchalantly brushing off his jacket.

"Hunting." Edward responded in a bored tone.

"Right," Emmett said, after an awkward silence. "Uh, thanks Ed!" He waved his hand over his shoulder as he turned to walk away in one fluid, graceful motion. It was almost strange how someone as big as Emmett could move with such grace. Edward shrugged and went back to watching Bella's show, he sat still like a stone but his thoughts began to wander to someplace else.

He was in the middle of a particularly pleasing thought about himself and Bella when Alice burst back into the room.

"Japser!" She shrieked, and if Edward hadn't heard her coming he would have jumped about ten feet in the air from surprise.

"What is with everyone asking about Jasper lately?" Edward mumbled.

"No!" Alice cried, "I saw… him with a _human_." Her eyes were wide as Edward realized what she meant. "Where, when?" Edward jumped up suddenly alert.

"It's already happened, I wasn't watching for him I should have been! I just saw it happening. The vision hit me and-" Alice put her hand to her mouth. "We need to go find him right-" Edward stopped mid step and fell into a crouch, "Someone's coming."

"Carlisle." Alice replied, "I recognize the motor." She stopped to listen, "He's coming faster than usual." Within seconds Carlisle was in the door and he was more angry than Alice or Edward had ever seen him.

"Where's Jasper!?" He roared. "Alice! Can you see him!?" He stopped right in front of her and she closed her eyes, but she was shaking with the stress she was feeling.

"I don't know." She cried, "I can't tell where he is, the woods somewhere… I see a road and some cars and… that's it." She shook her head.

Carlisle turned to Edward, "Go find him. Now." He growled.

"Carlisle, what's wrong?" Edward asked holding up his hands and speaking in a gentle tone.

"Someone just came into the emergency room… He was dead from blood loss and had a huge bite in his neck." Carlisle paused and then continued with disgust, "He had Jasper's scent all over him." He shuddered, "Jasper….Drank….Human... Blood." He said slowly, seething with anger and sheer rage.

Esmé had just walked through the door to put a vase full of flowers on the coffee table dropped it and threw her hands to mouth in a gasp. The flowers and water spilled everywhere but no one seemed to notice or care.

"He's coming." Edward hissed as he sensed the thoughts of Jasper who was not too far away.

If the four vampires standing in that room needed to breathe, they would have been holding their breath, but the silence was so complete it was almost as if the house was holding its breath for them.

Then they could all hear him, his steps as he walked up the pathway, as they clicked almost soundlessly over the wooden porch the swish of the cuff of his sleeve as his hand moved to turn the knob of the door.

To human ears the door wouldn't have made a sound, to Their ears the door opened with a sigh. To human noses Jasper smelled fine, to Their noses Jasper reeked of death, blood, and human. To human eyes Jasper's mouth was covered in blood, and for once this was almost the same in the eyes of a vampire but the blood was so vivid so _there_ Esmé looked away in horror.

Jasper strode, wild eyed up to Carlisle, "I've come to say goodbye." He said flatly, his eyes betraying his emotions.

"That's it? Goodbye?! How dare you even show your face here?" Carlisle roared, "Do you realize the mess you've made!? The trouble and jeopardy you've put us all in!" Carlisle seemed to grow to about ten feet tall and it was the first time any of those present had ever seen Carlisle so angry.

"Carlisle I know but-" Jasper began, his voice still monotone.

"No!" Carlisle snarled. "You are not welcome here any longer! Leave this house and don't come back." Carlisle pointed to the door and in the blink of an eye Alice was in between Jasper and Carlisle.

"If Jasper goes I go too." She said firmly. Carlisle hesitated for a beat but then remembered Jasper and Alice were the only two who weren't really part of the family. He had no connection to them and they had none to him.

If vampires could cry, tears would have sprung to Esmé's eyes, but she just gave the most forlorn look and choked out. "Carlisle."

"No. Darling, Jasper made his choice, let Alice make hers." Carlisle glanced from Alice and Jasper back to Esmé.

"I go where Jasper goes." Alice repeated and Esmé ran to her to give her a hug, and they held each other tightly until Jasper cleared his throat. "Alice." He said blankly, yet urgingly like a father calling to a young child.

Alice and Esmé shared one last look and Alice gave one more look of 'goodbye' to Edward and as soon as Jasper had come he and Alice were gone.

***

Carlisle sat back in his chair in the darkened room, tapping his fingers mindlessly on his desk.

_That was how it began, and it continued._

The next two to leave were Rosalie and Emmett. The story wasn't as dramatic, but Rosalie suddenly found herself talking to other vampires during her summer travels and found that abstaining from the blood of humans to be more and more pointless. She and Emmett had left with a mere wave of her hand and the blonde angel and curly haired bear had left out the door with a simple goodbye.

Edward, Bella, and Renesmee were the next to leave. It was a letter which began it.

Carlisle still remembered the words:

_Dearest Edward and Bella Cullen,_

_We would like to inform you that Alice and Jasper Cullen are here, taking up residence with us in Volterra, Italy. They wanted you to know that they are incredibly happy here and would like to extend the happiness to you as well._

_They are doing exceptionally well as vampires in our Coven and your gifts would be a welcome addition. _

_There is a slight problem however, and that is this: a small mishap of Jasper's has caused us to, lose faith in our newest additions. That is where you come in, if the both of you do not come together, with no one else and join our Coven we will be forced to tear Alice and Jasper apart and burn the remains._

_The Volturi do not have a place for vampires who may reveal that we exist here, but we are more than willing to make an exception for the Cullens._

_Please do not delay, enclosed are two plane tickets to Italy. _

_Warmest Regards,_

_Marcus_

He had signed his name with what looked like blood and Bella and Edward could not sacrifice the lives of their friends. Some time later Carlisle had received a letter written in the same scrawling hand.

_Carlisle Cullen,_

_It is our duty to inform you that Bella and Edward will not be returning home. They actually quite like it here in Italy and after their first Hunt they decided that they would stay. I do hope that you won't be too lonely without your gifted "children". Do pay us a visit Carlisle; I doubt you will be disappointed._

_Regards,_

_Marcus_

Renesmee, now fully grown had looked upon the letter with horror and vowed to abstain from the blood of humans forever. She had even signed a pact with her own blood and had gone to live with Jacob Black on his Indian Reservation for the rest of time.

Esmé of course was in shock that Edward and Bella had left them for the Volturi. She begged and pleaded with Carlisle to go to Italy to reason with them, but he had not been shaken. He had been betrayed by the ones he had created and it hurt him desperately. It was their lives, he had said, and they could do as they wished.

Esmé unhappy with his answer had gone to Italy herself. Weeks later Carlisle received word that Esmé had been killed by Volturi guards after making a scene in a Piazza with Bella and Edward.

So that was it. Carlisle was alone, again. Like he had been alone all those years ago. His plan to make company for himself had gone amiss and the ones he had created, the ones he had bitten to be like him and live his lifestyle had left him. All had abandoned him, it suddenly became apparent to him as to why. It takes control to master their instincts their thirst for human blood, and perhaps he was the only one who could do it. He was meant to be alone, and so he was.

He felt his thirst. Would he do it? Would he hunt humans? Was he perhaps the only of his kind left in the world? He stepped out the door: the thirst was unbearable, almost as overpowering as the loneliness. But not quite.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! If you like, please review so that I'm more motivated to keep writing new chapters! If you're waiting for another chapter with Betlegeuse, don't worry I've got one in the works... and finally he and Lydia get to meet up with Kim, Edward ScissorHands, Buffy, and PIKE. Woo hoo! That'll be quite the madcap chapter...

Oh and sorry for killing Esmé. She's one of my favourites, but she needed to go... I couldn't have BJ killing her! It *had* to be the Volturi. ;)


	8. Chapter 8: Promises

A/N: Wow it's been almost a year. I'm so sorry! I got so busy with school and my art that I totally forgot about the adventures of Buffy and Friends. Anywho, yesterday I got an e-mail alert for a review and I realized that I hadn't seen the reviews that have been written (some since last year!). I realized that apparently, there are actually a few people who may possible enjoy this bizarre story that I'm writing here. Thank you to those of you who reviewed, and especially to **meyomoi** because your review is the one that made me sit down and write a new chapter. Also, to **Crescent-Moon88**, Edward and Bella did not die in the previous chapter. They both joined the Volturi, only Esmé died, sorry if I was unclear. :] Thank you so much for reading, and I hope to make some more chapters soon! Love, R_E

PS. I think I may be moving the story along too fast. If you think that, please tell me, and possibly give me a suggestion of a chapter that I could put in as just fluff to make the story a bit slower. :]

* * *

Chapter 8

Promises

The hotel was very nice. Buffy glanced around; it wasn't like your average American hotel. It was a marvelous place; it had such an Italian flair. The lobby was gorgeous, so many reds and oranges; from the warm brown tiled floors to the Victorian-esque red chairs, loveseats, and tables. The reception desk had a sculpture reminiscent of something Michelangelo might have done, and there was even a case of expensive looking wines off to the side. She might have to sample a few, later though. She grinned, relishing the thought of a glass of champagne with Pike on the balcony in their suite.

Buffy took a breath of fresh air; they even had a pool here. Yes, things where looking up, and so far she hadn't seen or _felt_ any signs of vampires. Pike was licking his fingers of the remaining strawberry gelato from earlier and Buffy looked at him with a small exasperated smile.

"We're in Italy Pike, not the middle of no where, I'm sure they have napkins." She pulled one out of her patent leather handbag and handed it to her.

Pike took the napkin with a frown, "But why would you ever waste the gelato on a napkin?" He winked at her and placatingly wiped his fingers off of the sticky residue.

Buffy oversaw a bellhop as he whisked their two suitcases away to their room. "I'm hungry." She said yawning and glancing around.

"Okay," Pike said shrugging and tossing his soiled napkin in a trash receptacle. "Let's go see if we can find one of those little Italian cafés I'm in the mood for some good spaghetti." With a spring in his step his headed towards the double doors which lead out into a bustling Italian piazza. He was humming something that to Buffy sounded like "Mama mia, pizza pie…."

She rolled her eyes, some people never changed, and even though they were in a foreign, beautiful country Pike was still being well, Pike. The pair stepped out into the evening light, the sun slowly setting, was casting long shadows about the piazza.

"You know where you're going?" Buffy asked Pike as he started leading her down the small cobblestone street.

"No, but I figure how far do you have to walk? I mean were bound to find one somewhere! I promise." He grinned and Buffy groaned, but good naturedly followed him down the street.

* * *

"Kim?" Edward said quietly, Kim looked over to the setting sun. It was casting long shadows on the road. The shine of the setting sun made it seem as if the grass in the fields were on fire. Though beautiful, the sight was unsettling and Kim looked ahead to the town, which was getting ever closer.

She had grossly misjudged the distance however, and the small town was still very far away. Thinking it to be only five miles away at the old runway was an understatement, they had walked perhaps five miles and it seemed they had at least another eight to go.

"Kim?" Edward said, a bit louder. Kim snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Edward with a smile.

"Yes Edward?"

"I'm hungry." He said it in such a child-like manner that Kim had to stop herself from giggling.

"I know Edward, I'm hungry too, but we have to keep walking. I don't think we'll make it to the town before sundown, and I don't want to be out here in the dark for longer than we have to." Edward nodded sadly, and kept plodding along next to Kim.

"Oh!" Kim said excitedly. She reached into her pack and produced a granola bar. She unwrapped it and handed to Edward who ate it up hungrily.

Kim measured mentally the distance if they walked fast they might be able to make it to the town in about an hour and a half. She glanced over to Edward who had finished his small snack.

"Don't worry Edward I promise we'll be there soon, then I'll buy you some real dinner."

He smiled, "Promise?" He said quietly.

"Promise." Kim smiled, and grabbed his hand gingerly. They walked hand in scissor down the road, their pace quickened ever so slightly.

"I would like that very much." Edward smiled and Kim leaned up against his shoulder for a second. She wanted to squeeze his hand, but couldn't so a shoulder tap was fine for her. She grinned at her odd predicament, and continued with a spring in her step down the road.

* * *

"Seriously, Beej we've been walking around for at least an hour. We've passed a million cafes, just pick one." Lydia removed her arm from Betelgeuse's.

"Aw babes, since when do you call me Beej?" He smiled warmly at the new nickname.

Lydia's cheeks flushed with a slight pink. "I. I, uh." She stammered, "Well Betel just sounds gross so-"

"No I get it." Betelgeuse smiled knowingly, "You just wanted to give a pet name to your hubby w—"

"Don't go there Betelgeuse, or I won't say it anymore." Lydia frowned.

"Don't worry I know what you'll call Betel. It's fine, you can tell me." He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she pulled away in disgust.

"Seriously Betel, cut it out. It's just that Betelgeuse is such a mouthful—"

"You got that right," He whooped.

She turned a bright red then, reminiscent of the wedding dress. "No I mean it, and you know if I accidentally say your name three times you'll leave me."

Betelgeuse ceased all inappropriate gestures and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked down at Lydia who was looking right up into his eyes, "I don't want you to leave me Beej. I don't want to be alone anymore." The pleading in her eyes caught him off guard, and he coughed and cleared his throat, looking away uncomfortably.

Then he muttered lamely, "Well, uh, you know. Don't worry about it." He pulled on the lapels of his stripped jacket and tried to change the subject.

"Say you're hungry right? Well 'ya know we can't have you eating in your school girl uniform. 'Ya know I'm lovin' that skirt babes, but the rest of the outfit isn't really dinner wear… Maybe there's a shop around here somewhere." He made a show of looking around, but Lydia was still standing in the same place arms rigid at her sides.

"Don't leave me Beej. Promise me, you won't leave me." Her voice came out hoarse, slightly afraid.

"Well shit Lydia 'ya know I won't be leavin' unless you say my name three times." He grinned, slightly thrown off by her sudden show of affection.

"Promise me!" She grabbed his collar. "I will _not_ be alone anymore! Promise me that!" Betel saw tears beginning to form at the corners of her big dark eyes.

"Okay, okay. I promise. Hell Lydia, you're scaring me here, I thought you hated me." He felt her pull tighter. "I promise," He said seriously this time. "I won't leave you, I promise."

He wrapped her up in a hug, half expecting her to whisper '_I love you'_ in his ear, but the words didn't come she just held on tight for a minute and finally let go.

"Now what were you saying about a new outfit?" She smiled brightly, as if forgetting the previous few minutes.

Betelgeuse stopped and began to speak slowly, "Well all I was sayin' is that that short skirt is delicious but the schoolgirl outfit just isn't quite Italy Attire, 'ya know what I mean?"

Lydia smiled then, "Okay, shopping first. Then food. I get it." She grinned, and they linked arms and walked down the street. Just as they turned a corner they saw a clothes store, they looked into the window and as if by fate there it was. A dress. The both looked at each other, nodded, and rushed into the store.


End file.
